


Biohazard

by Dragon_Writes



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, G.U.N being terrible as per usual, I couldn't think of a title leave me alone ok, Radioactive Shadow AU, Shadow the Hedgehog Needs A Hug, but yeah, eventually, he gets one dw, its never actually stated like, please read them its pretty important, radioactivity, there's more characters but they're more offhand mentions than anything, trigger warnings are in the notes!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Writes/pseuds/Dragon_Writes
Summary: A danger. A hazard. A mistake.What if Shadow was made of Nuclear power rather than chaos energy and Black Arms DNA?
Relationships: Gerald Robotnik & Maria Robotnik, Gerald Robotnik & Shadow the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik & Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat & Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog & Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	Biohazard

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warnings!! Shadow eats bodies to survive. It's not a huge section, going from "Blood death and decay filled the air, and the only sound left was his own breathing." until "The first sound he’d heard since the raid was of footsteps down the hall." There's also of course the Ark raid and stuff so yeah, if any of that sort of stuff makes you uncomfortable I would advise against reading.
> 
> On the actual story: this idea was originally by a Feliner!! I just asked if I could write it and, after much discussion on how certain plot elements would work, this is what we came up with after a couple days!! We're both very excited about this au, and she'll also be doing some art for scenes so keep an eye out for that, now without further ado on with the story!

He hadn’t understood it at first.

He could see them through the glass wall, his only interaction with anything outside of the steel grey room. They dressed in white coats, sterile, always scribbling in notepads and casting him cautious glances before whispering to their neighbour. 

Someone was always there, watching. Rarely did they ever come inside.

When someone entered the small cell it was in a suit, covered head to toe, with a mask that hid their expressions and left him flinching away as they reached out to grab him. Cold rubber hands that held him down for tests before retreating again, with no one but himself and those cautious eyes for company.

It took him a long time to understand why they did it. Why no one entered without so much protective gear they could barely move.

Two of them. White suits, yellow gloves, black masks. The usual.

One of them had grabbed him too hard, bruises on his arm. He’d lashed out and bit as hard as he could, the texture unpleasant in his mouth and the scream echoing through the walls.

That was the first time the alarms had blared.

He hadn’t even drawn blood, had barely made a dent in the material, but suddenly they were running out of the room and the alarms wouldn’t stop ringing.

He couldn’t remember anything after that other than an odd smell and pale fog before he passed out.

Dangerous. He’d heard them say it before.

A danger. A hazard. A mistake.

He didn’t fully understand what they meant yet, but he knew it wasn’t good. Their hostile eyes told him that.

Gradually some of the white coats were replaced with black and blue uniforms, sneering at him through the glass as they grumbled to each other. It always put him on edge when they appeared, spines bristling anytime he sensed someone was staring at him. 

Their expressions never changed. 

It continued like this for chaos knows how long. There was no way for him to tell, only the occasional tests giving him any idea that time had passed at all outside of that cold steel room.

Until she appeared.

Of all the scientists, who came and went without any notice, there was always a familiar presence on the other side of that window. A large man, bushy grey moustache and tinted glasses that concealed his eyes, white coat draped over his figure.

He rarely entered the room, but he was almost always there. Watching.

That stare was the only one that didn’t make his skin crawl.

It took him by surprise when he came into that other room one day with a child at his heels. She was short, blonde with blue eyes that matched her dress and a massive grin as she looked up at the man that he had learned to tolerate more than the others.

Then she saw him. 

Her face had morphed into confusion, before the grin appeared once again, hands shooting up to the glass to get as close as she could, bouncing on her heels as she looked straight at him.

His chest tightened at the expression. She looked… happy, to see him.

He didn't know how to feel about that.

The little girl appeared more and more, getting under the scientists’ feet and making silly faces through the glass, looking away with a fake innocent look when scolded by the large man and sticking her tongue out when his back was turned.

The familiarity was comforting. 

Days, weeks, maybe months passed like this. As white black and blue came and went, those two faces always returned, warm smiles on the opposite side of the glass that were far kinder than he deserved according to everyone else.

Normal routine continued. The girl followed the man in, grinning when she saw the black hedgehog and racing over as per usual, ignoring the elder’s scolding as she pressed her hands and face to the barrier between them with such joy that it overwhelmed him.

That was the first time he smiled.

It was small, but it was enough for the two to notice, shocked expressions crossing their faces with shining eyes as he slowly made his way to the glass, a small paw reaching up to be placed on the same area as the girl’s. 

The grin on her face told him all he needed to know.

A new routine formed. A greeting and farewell of sorts, each placing their hand and paw on opposing sides of the glass.

At some point she started getting the man to do it too. He wasn’t sure how, but judging by the look on his face each time he didn’t mind much.

So he could ignore the others. The overheard snippets when they thought he couldn’t understand them, the insults, the hostile glares from white black and blue because the only ones who mattered always greeted him with smiles and a hand on the glass.

Then the alarms blared again.

Their faces, he’d never forget their faces, so full of fear and horror as red lights blinked and the piercing noise sounded above their heads. 

Sounds rarely got through the glass but he could hear the gunshots and countless footsteps coming closer and chaos that wasn’t good, those noises weren’t good, their terrified faces and her sobbing and the screaming of everyone-

The door was thrown down and he took cover in the corner, whimpering as he heard the glass crack from the momentum of silver bullets and begging it all to stop.

The noise died down. He was still there. They hadn’t seen him in the shadows. He looked out to the opposite side of the glass and screamed.

. . .

Hours, days, passed, though it felt longer. He spent the time shaking, sobbing, grieving for the people he’d become so familiar with, diving into the festering tide of anger that he hadn’t done anything to stop them, save them, stop the blood from coating the floor.

He couldn't bear to look through the glass again, the small bloody handprint on the glass forever in his peripheral vision, a cruel reminder of what he’d failed to protect.

Hunger began to claw at his stomach, raking his insides as he searched the room in vain to find anything.

The scavenge brought him to the door at one point, tall and steel and disgustingly clean on his side in comparison to what he knew was on the other.

A nudge caused it to open.

The smell was indescribable, blood and death penetrating the room and making him drop to his knees and start gagging. He retreated to the corner once more, though that didn’t block out the reality anymore, not with the smell filling the room and clouding his mind with the images outside the door.

He curled into a ball and sobbed. 

It took at least another two days to pass before he could move from that position. His stomach was growling, everything hurt as he tried to sit up and wipe the lines of salt from his face, shallowly panting as he fought against throwing up the nothing he had left.

The smell had gotten worse, decay joining the mix.

With a sharp breath he forced himself to stand, limping his way to the door, and forced it open a little more to get through.

It was the first time he’d crossed the glass. He wished it was a happier sight.

Hands shaking he tried to force himself to look away, to leave, stop surveying the damage that was left and just run. 

He was frozen.

Bodies. Corpses littered the floor, white coats stained red and brown as the blood dried, holes in flesh and cracks in the walls where the bullets had missed. The smell was toxic, making his empty stomach flip and chaos he wanted to get away why couldn’t he move-

He needed to find food. Something that would keep him alive even a little longer, he had to let someone know what had happened.

Something told him he was the only survivor. Something else told him there was nothing left for him to survive on.

Blood death and decay filled the air, and the only sound left was his own breathing.

He had to. He didn’t have a choice.

It filled him with disgust, every step towards what seemed to be the least rotted corpse, far in the corner as he trudged through what was definitely one graveyard of many. Shaking hands reached out and with a sob he tore into the flesh.

It was disgusting. It had been days since they fell, nothing was fresh, but it was all he could do to stay alive.

He made sure not to go near Them. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he did.

This routine continued for too long. He did it as little as he could, his claws and hands bloody and torn from tearing into the flesh, teeth aching from being clenched anytime he wasn’t forcing himself to eat.

He hadn’t dared to leave that room. He trusted the two, and there must have been a reason he’d never been let out from behind that glass wall.

He’d honour that at least.

The first sound he’d heard since the raid was of footsteps down the hall. 

Spines bristling he bolted upright, crouched defensively, teeth bared and glaring down the hall at where the intruders were gradually coming closer, whispering among themselves with no idea what they were nearing.

He froze as they entered. Black and blue uniforms.

He saw red before the room went white.

When he came to the uniforms were gone and there were scorch marks on the walls, new bodies laying in the doorway, flesh singed and red.

Ice cold horror flooded through his veins at the sight.

This was why they’d kept him locked away.

Danger.

He didn’t even react when new people in suits came and grabbed him. 

. . . 

Everything felt heavy when he awoke.

It was a battle to open his eyes to the view of a grey ceiling, limbs feeling like lead as he struggled to sit up.

He whined. It hurt to move before his joints grew accustomed to moving again, feeling like they’d been glued in place for years, decades, maybe centuries. Surveying the room he noticed he was sitting inside a capsule and, with an amount of effort he didn’t want to admit to, he pulled himself out of and onto the ground-

Oh.

His heart hammered in his chest, breath ragged. This room. Those walls. 

The glass wall he was sitting across from.

Dazed, confused, head swimming. When had he gotten back here? What had happened?

...Who were they?

On the other side of the glass stood two figures, adorned with eerily familiar protective gear. Though unlike the ones he remembered before, he could see their faces.

The smaller was white furred, large ears covered by the outfit but still outlined by the fabric, with large half closed teal eyes that observed him with quiet curiosity.

The other made his breath hitch. A large figure, with small tinted glasses and a bushy moustache.

Familiar. Too familiar.

They continued to stare at him through the glass. He noticed there were no longer cracks or blood or bodies.

He didn’t know how to feel.

Had it all been a dream?

Was this even real?

What was happening anymore what was he meant to do WhyWereTheyLookingAtHim-

The man was speaking but he couldn’t hear over the blood roaring in his ears, the last memories he had playing on repeat in his mind and drowning everything else out.

He’d been grabbed. They’d thrown him into a cage, marks left on his arms and legs from the handling, too weak and distressed to fight back. They injected him with something. 

Everything was blank after that.

The sound of the door being opened brought him out of his thoughts, the man standing there with a wicked grin behind the cover.

“Intruders,” the man said, “Stop them.”

He was too caught up in his confusion to argue.

He tried his best to stick to specific corridors. He’d never been outside of that room, but the lingering feeling that he was contaminating wherever he went persuaded him to remain only in certain areas. At some point he came across a blue hedgehog, green eyes wide when he noticed another was in the room before taking a defensive stance, coat dishevelled under the protective suit he wore.

Even the intruders knew he was a danger.

The difference was that he was… grinning?

He refused to dwell on the familiarity of that look, he just struck.

They raced along the corridor, dodging blow after blow, yet that stupid grin wouldn’t go away, just got wider when he got a scowl in return.

Then the ground was shaking, and suddenly being the winner wasn’t a priority because one look out the window showed they were falling towards a planet and the blue hedgehog had run away.

With shaking breath he made his way back to the only place he’d known, determined to ignore what may be coming and just hide in that corner until it all stopped.

It had worked before, right?

He was halfway there when someone grabbed him by the shoulder. A pink hedgehog, adorned in another suit.

He shoved her hand off.

“Help us,” she said. “Don’t run away, it’s not what they would have wanted.”

He had no idea if she was talking about those on the ship or if she knew what had happened here so long ago, but something told him she was right and suddenly he was standing in a room with the blue hedgehog again, accompanied by a red creature he didn’t know the name of.

They were staring at a lizard, giant and rust coloured as it glared down at them with glowing eyes. 

He didn’t want to acknowledge the familiar energy it had, the only thing that could be described as similar to his own. 

Everything was a blur, the three of them fighting the beast side by side, then suddenly it was gone in a flash of light that left them dazed before a voice sounded around the room that it had fused with the aircraft.

He doesn’t know how but suddenly him and the blue hedgehog were side by side, launching themselves out into space with one thought in common.

They had to stop it.

Seven emeralds surrounded them and suddenly he was no longer black and green but golden, the blue in a similar situation as he felt a power circulate through him that he’d never felt before. 

Diving through the air they attacked the lizard, golden blurs against a backdrop of stars as it fired projectiles of glowing green that were eerily familiar, roaring when he fired his own right back.

The two slowed to a stop in front of the beast, panting as they stared it down, the aircraft gradually falling closer and closer to the planet only they could now save.

The formerly blue hedgehog turned to him with a grin, eyes flashing with determination, and suddenly he found himself returning the expression before they turned back to their foe.

“CHAOS CONTROL”

A flash of light, a roar, and finally a cheer as he opened his eyes to see the aircraft back in place among the stars, no longer plummeting to the planet below. The one by his side was grinning at him, and he gave a small smile in return. HIs limbs felt heavy again.

With an exhausted sigh he suddenly found himself back inside the only room he’d ever known, golden glow gradually fading as his world went dark.

. . . 

Lonely. 

Even though it had been only a short time, the minor amount of interaction he’d had with the strangers left him longing for more. 

It had been so long since he’d seen a friendly face.

The two he’d known were long gone, he knew that, had done since he’d first heard the gunshots, and for the first time since then he sobbed. 

The tears refused to stop when they started, flood gates opening as he stared around at the empty room, vision blurring as he remembered placing his paw on the glass with the girl and man he missed so much. 

It was unfair, but he guessed that was life.

He was a danger. A hazard. A mistake. No one could get close to him without getting hurt.

Which was why it surprised him when someone appeared on the other side of the glass again.

The white furred one stood gazing at him with half lidded eyes, protective suit on once again.

He just stared back at her in confusion, eyes fixed as she began to make her way towards the door.

His heart jumped to his throat as she made her way inside.

She just looked at him patiently when he skittered back slightly, spines bristling. No one came into the room for anything that wasn’t a test.

What she wanted was a mystery to him. There was nothing he could offer to her, and everyone else was long gone.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” she finally said, teal eyes calm and collected even as he refused to look anywhere but her. “You can calm down.”

He just continued to stare.

With a light huff, she sat down on the ground, wings splayed behind her though still covered in the protective material.

“I’m Rouge the bat,” she stated, a smirk on her face as she gestured for him to take a seat in front of her. “What about you, hon?”

In response he just stared at her, mouth opening before realising he had nothing to say.

He didn’t have a name.

He didn’t even say anything, but it seemed as though she knew what he was thinking. “Don’t worry about it, we can figure it out later,” she said, shrugging her shoulders with a smile before standing up again. 

He bristled slightly at the sudden movement, heart hammering again as she dusted herself off.

“Stay,” he whispered, voice tight from lack of use.

Rouge gave him a sympathetic look before covering it with a look of confidence. “I’ll be back, kid, just wait a few days, okay?”

Her tone left no room to argue, but somehow he felt he didn’t need to.

The sound of her footsteps gradually faded down the hall once more, leaving him alone again.

With a sigh he looked away from the glass wall to where she once sat, and noticed something that hadn’t been there before.

A basket, full of food and water. A blanket lay there, too, a soft pastel blue that he quickly pulled around him and relished the warmth of.

A note was attached to the handle, reading ‘It’ll be okay’ in neat, curled handwriting.

Somehow he believed it.

The next time she came was with the same confident air as before, eyes bright as she waved to him through the glass before entering again.

“Hey hon, I’ve got a question for you,” she said chuckling at his look of confusion before taking her place on the ground again. 

“So, what do you think of the name Shadow?”

It took a minute for him to realise why she was asking, eyes widening when it clicked.

Rouge was apparently rather intuitive, as she let out a small laugh almost immediately after he figured it out. “Well? Don’t leave me hanging.”

He pondered it for a moment before replying, “Why Shadow?”

“A few reasons. The black fur is an obvious one, but also the fact you usually stick to the shadows and you were following us around like one, so it just seems to fit.”

He thought it over for another moment before a small smile crossed his face, looking up at the bat who had just done more for him than she’d ever know. “I like that.”

She grinned in response. “I’m glad,” she said, “We didn’t really have any other ideas.”

She stayed and chatted for a while before having to leave again, once again leaving a small basket in her wake with more food and what seemed to be some sort of jumper.

He turned her parting words over in his head repeatedly. “Seeya soon, Shadow.”

A name. He had a name.

And he might have a new friend, too.

. . .

The visits continued with Rouge, and became something for him to actively look forward to. Each time she brought a basket of supplies with her, food, water, and often a small gift. His favourites so far had been the blanket from the initial basket, and a pair of rocket shoes with green accents that allowed him to glide around the room.

The next time she came she’d been wearing a pair of skates to join in, and that was the moment he knew she actually cared for him.

His mind was still reeling at the thought that this random bat cared at all for his well being.

He didn’t fully understand why. She could be doing anything else, yet she spent a few hours every few days going out of her way to come to space purely because she knew he was lonely.

When he built up the nerve to ask her why, she’d just said she enjoyed spending time with him, and left it at that.

They never mentioned why she couldn’t visit without a protective suit.

At some point she’d brought him a small tablet to talk with her even when she was on earth, as well as giving him the contact information of the others that had been on the aircraft what felt like years ago now but what she’d told him had only been a few months, and he’d never admit that the gift had almost brought him to tears.

He found talking to them was a good way to pass the time, occasionally requesting photos of life on earth and forever being blown away at how amazing everything looked.

At one point the blue hedgehog, who he found out was named Sonic, asked if he could come down sometime.

He didn’t know what to say to that, so he never replied, just changed the subject.

The next time Rouge came up was only days after that conversation with Sonic, a mischievous grin on her face and a box in her hands as she waved from the other side of the glass.

At his glance of confusion she just winked before opening the door, but she didn’t enter, just set the box down before nudging it in his direction. “Open it,” was all she said, stepping back with a smirk.

Curiously, cautiously, Shadow made his way over to the box. A lime green ribbon, a similar shade to his stripes, was wrapped around it, and he carefully unraveled it before taking off the lid. 

Inside was a suit made of what seemed to be a clear material, a bracelet alongside it that had a currently blank screen.

“Put it on,” was all the bat said, teal eyes bright with excitement.

Still mildly suspicious, he followed her orders, the suit practically invisible against his fur with the skates overtop. Finally he placed the bracelet on, numbers appearing on the small screen as soon as he clicked it into place.

“Two hours for what?” He asked, feeling slightly reassured by her look of genuine joy but still apprehensive.

“For you to spend on earth, hon,” she said. “Now c’mon, we’re wasting time.”

His heart was pounding. She wasn’t serious, right? There was no way-

“How is that even possible?!” he called, skating along to catch up with her as she power walked down the corridor, mind refusing to accept that this was even possible.

“Tails is a clever kid,” was all she said in response before they came to a stop beside a large device, the room having a large window looking down on earth. Pressing a button the door to the device opened and Rouge stepped inside, gesturing for him to follow her. 

Reluctantly he joined her, door slamming shut behind them before the space filled with a bright light that faded as quick as it came, and suddenly he could hear voices.

The door opened and he almost cried. 

They were in a small workshop, tools and papers littered around the room, though Shadow barely acknowledged this, too focused on the people that now stood in front of him.

With a small nudge, Rouge stepped out of the device to stand among the others who looked at him with grins on their faces and shining eyes.

He didn’t even know what to say, just stared in shock.

They’d done this for him. They cared enough to go out of their way to bring him down to earth, make him feel included in their lives.

“We have a surprise outside, c’mon!” Sonic cheered, sprinting out of the room without waiting for anyone to follow.

Curiosity taking place of shock, Shadow joined everyone in the journey to the outside, savouring every moment in surveying his surroundings. The house was small but homey, nothing like his barren room on what he learned was called the Ark. 

As they exited the house Shadow couldn’t hold back his gasp of astonishment. Green fields surrounded the area, occasional trees and bushes dotting the landscape and a clear sky above, fluffy clouds in patches in the air.

What was really breath-taking was the sunset.

The golden glow spread through the sky, eventually fading to oranges, pinks, purples, and blue, bathing the whole landscape in a warm light accentuated by the gradually appearing stars above.

“Happy birthday, Shadow,” Rouge whispered, gathering him in her arms in a gentle hug.

No one mentioned the tears he let fall, just watched the sunset in contentment. 

It seemed that the little note was right. It would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this, it's 12 pages long in my google docs and as such is probably the longest thing I've written in a long time. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated, and have a good day/night wherever you may be!!


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